I am sharing with everyone the stories sent to me, coming out of Yulin and the dogs that have been saved from the barbaric death that awaited them at the Yulin Festival.. I had hope that many of you contacted your State Representative to endorse U.S. Rep. Alcee L. Hastings resolution H.Res.752 condemning China's Yulin Festival. This was a major resolution that would have the US condemning this Festival and hopefully stopping it for good. I do feel that their was a majority of support for this resolution and it will make the difference in the coming months. Today's news showed that over 66,000 letters went to our legislation asking the United States to support the petitions and intervene on behalf of the American People to stop this Festival and urge the support of Chinese Government in stopping the dog meat trade. There were 126,000 tweets urging support from our legislators, and 64% of the people of China are against the dog meat trade and the Yulin Festival.

Humane Society International and Avaaz presented the Chinese Government with more than 11million signatures on the petitions. This was a miracle network of Humane Society International, Avaaz, Chinese Activists and all of the American people fighting for the lives of these dogs and cats.

BRAVO U.S. Rep. Alcee L. Hastings resolution H.Res.752, HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, AVAAZ, the many CHINESE ACTIVISTS AND TO ALL US THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR SIGNING PETITIONS, TWEETING, WRITING LETTERS, CALLING THEIR LEGISLATORS AND CONTACTING THEM ON FB.

MAHALO NUI LOA AND A HUI HO Thank you for saving these animals

With your help, HSI works year round in China to fight the cruel dog meat trade, but as this year’s dog meat festival in Yulin, China approached, we made it clear to city officials that public outrage against it continues unabated: On June 10th, we gathered with our Chinese partner groups outside the Yulin government office in Beijing to present a petition with 11 million signatures demanding an end to the cruelty. We also sent the petition directly to Xi Jinping, President of China and the National People’s Congress. Thank you for adding your voice to our call for mercy.

HSI's Peter Li and local activists at the June 10th petition hand-in in Bejing, ChinaIn the weeks leading up to Yulin, thanks to you, we were able to support local groups in reporting four trucks taking animals to slaughter. This led to the rescue of dogs from two of the trucks,who are all now being cared for using funding from generous donors like you.

Because of generous gifts, we also rescued and helped shelter dogs brought out of Yulin.

Although rescue is just one component of our year-round efforts to find a permanent end to this industry, during this year’s campaign, we rescued 49 dogs and 5 cats in addition to taking in and sheltering 120 sick and injured dogs rescued during the festival. All 174 rescued animals arrived at an HSI-funded facility in northern China. They are receiving excellent veterinary care from our local partner group. Over the next few weeks, we will help prepare the dogs for adoption into loving homes in China as well as North America. None of this would be possible without you by our side.

HSI's Peter Li caring for dogs rescued from a truck bound for slaughterHSI’s Peter Li and Adam Parascandola were on the ground in Yulin and although the scenes of suffering were heartbreaking, they report a sluggish market and increased government restrictions on dog meat sales this year. They also confirmed that three slaughterhouses that HSI visited previously seem to be closed—one of them shut down entirely after our team exposed it to the public in 2015.

And results from a recent opinion poll that HSI and Avaaz commissioned reveal that the majority of Chinese people want this festival shut down; most have never even eaten dog meat in their lives. You have helped us call attention to the widespread opposition to this cruel trade—an important step forward in our campaign to fight Yulin and the larger dog meat industry.

We are so grateful to have you and everyone by our side with all we have planned in our fight to end this trade. Your gift supports HSI's efforts to expose the suffering behind the industry, provide law enforcement across China to tackle unscrupulous dog thieves and traders, stop slaughter trucks on the highways and rescue dogs, and equip other dedicated Chinese partner groups and shelters with the tools they need to challenge the cruelty on the ground.

We can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done to help us keep up this fight. You give my colleagues and me hope that our campaign against Yulin and the dog meat trade is working and that one day this terrible suffering will come to an end.